CLOUTIERVILLE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – One man has died and another is seriously injured after coming into contact with a live power line in Cloutierville Friday afternoon, according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office says it happened around 2:30 p.m. in the 300 block of La. Hwy 495.
Natchitoches Parish deputies and firefighters responding to a 911 call arrived to find one of the men, later identified as 40-year-old Joshua Ward of Provencal, dead on the scene. Marcus Ward, 52, was rushed to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center suffering from what the sheriff’s office describes as moderate injuries.
NPSO says they learned Joshua and Marcus were working with another unidentified man on a construction remodeling project. Joshua and Marcus were moving a 24-foot metal scaffolding on wheels from one side of a building to another side when the scaffolding made contact with a main electrical line carrying approximately 7624 volts of electricity supplied to the Cloutierville area.
Deputies learned the building owner partially pushed Marcus off of the scaffolding.
Natchitoches Parish Asst. Deputy Coroner Steven Clanton pronounced Joshua Ward dead on the scene. The body is being sent to Shreveport for an autopsy.
Deputies say the incident appears to be accidental. However, the investigation is ongoing.
“This is such a tragic incident,” the NPSO said in a statement released Friday evening attributed to Sheriff Stuart Wright. “We extend our thoughts to the Ward families and ask that you join us in remembering them in your prayers tonight and the days to come.”
